Reigning world champion Evan Lysacek says the scrutiny over every element of a routine has led figure skaters to abandon the quad jump because of the risk to their scores.

By Kelly Whiteside, USA TODAY

Plenty of eulogies have been written for the dearly departed 6.0 scoring system in figure skating. Now, a moment of silence, please, for another of the sport's most recognizable elements: the quad.

After a points-based scoring system was adopted following the judging scandal in the 2002 Olympics, to most the risk of doing a quad didn't match its reward. As a result, only a few elite male skaters regularly do the four-rotation jump in their programs.

Heading into the U.S. championships, which begin Friday in Spokane, Wash., and determine the U.S. team for next month's Vancouver Olympics, the inclusion or exclusion of the quad will be a compelling story line.

Three Olympic spots are on the line.

Which skaters will play it safe, relying on what they do best, and avoid the quad?

Who will go-for-broke and attempt the sport's most difficult and exciting jump?

It's a matter of math, strategy and execution. If a skater doesn't routinely hit the jump in practices leading into a competition, he won't attempt the quad in his program.

"There's so much scrutiny on every single element," says reigning world champion Evan Lysacek, 24, who also won the Grand Prix final last month without a quad. "You can't hit the quad and make a mistake on anything else. You literally have to be perfect, whether that includes doing a quadruple jump in your program or not."

End of an era?

First, the math. In the confounding scoring system, a quad toe loop is worth 9.8 points. A triple axel is worth 8.2.

"The quad is a huge point-getter, but it's only 1.6 more than a triple axel," Olympic champion Scott Hamilton says. "Do a beautiful triple axel with a plus 2 grade of execution, and all of a sudden the quad doesn't mean anything anymore." (Judges give a plus or minus grade on each element.)

Jeremy Abbott, the reigning U.S. champion who placed fourth in the Grand Prix final, says he plans on attempting a quad at nationals.

"If you fall and it's downgraded, you get zero points," says Abbott, 24. "That's very tough. I do feel very confident in this jump. I feel it is worth the risk to get the reward."

This is what the new scoring system has wrought. In the 2002 Olympics, when the 6.0 was still in use, the three medalists landed nine quads in their programs. The last two world champions, Canada's Jeffrey Buttle in 2008 and Lysacek, won gold without attempting a quad in either program.

Some coaches feel the sport has taken a significant step back as a result. Former U.S. champion Michael Weiss was practicing a quad lutz before the 1998 Nagano Olympics. That would be unheard of today. His coach then, Audrey Weisiger, says there is no incentive for current skaters to even attempt new quad combinations given the scoring system.

"I'm kinda old school. I know a lot of older coaches are sad to see it go because that's what branded our sport," Weisiger says. "When you watch other sports, they're doing these blackflippyaerials in skiing, and I think that's why extreme sports are popular. People are doing things that are scary, and everyone knows how hard it is to do that.

"We like to see people push to their fullest potential. That's really why we like sports. And when people have been doing things previously in a sport that are no longer part of the sport, people are like, 'Wait a minute.' We'll be lucky if our Olympic champion this year does one quad and a triple axel or two. If the Olympic champion wins without a quad, I'm going to be so sad."

Mapping out a plan

As for the strategy, Lysacek has shown he can win at the highest level without a quad. Still he practices the quad regularly and has landed them in previous competitions. In nationals, it probably won't be needed.

"The program you put down at nationals is one you can depend on," Hamilton says. "With a strong field, the last thing you want to do is come out all guns blazing and not make the Olympic team. Use the nationals as a solid tuneup for the Olympics."

Like Lysacek, Johnny Weir, 25, a 2006 Olympian who won the bronze medal most recently in the 2009 Grand Prix final, probably doesn't need a quad to make the Olympic team as long as he skates cleanly.

However, Brandon Mroz, just 19, might need to channel the chutzpah he showed in last year's nationals when he won the silver by landing a quad.

Then there's Ryan Bradley, who certainly doesn't see the quad as a four-letter word.

Bradley won the bronze in November's Skate America by landing two quads in his free skate. He became the first U.S. skater to accomplish that feat since Timothy Goebel, aka "The Quad King," did it in the 2003 world championships.

"I wanted to do something this season that set me apart," says Bradley, 26, who has been mentored by Goebel on the physical and mental demands of doing multiple quads in a program.

Without the résumé or total package of a Lysacek, Bradley knows he has to hit the quad to make the Olympic team.

"Artistry is not my strength, so I like to power through and do tricks," he says. "I'm going for broke this year."

Next month at the Olympics, the quad strategy for all might change again, when facing Russia's Evgeny Plushenko, the 2006 Olympic champion making a comeback, and France's Brian Joubert, the 2007 world champion who recently had foot surgery and also is a quad-loving contender.

Lysacek will continue to practice the quad and perhaps pull it out of his pocket if needed in Vancouver. It's not a jump he enjoys.

"I used to really like doing it in competition," he says. "Now it's a little harder to do it. The mental hurdle is there because I know there's a risk of injury.

"Now it's not so fun, honestly."

Last season, Lysacek suffered a stress fracture and spent much of 2009 rebuilding the strength in his left foot.

"I think in Vancouver, somebody will skate clean with a quad," he says. "Probably only one person, and I want it to be me, so I'm doing everything in my power to make that happen."

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